The present invention relates to a dish or dish-like apparatus useful to provide food and/or drink to an animal, e.g., a household pet. More particularly, the invention relates to such an apparatus which is structured to protect the animal's food and/or drink from crawling insects.
Animals, such as household pets, often require a readily available supply of food and/or drink, e.g. water. To this end, a dish filled with food and/or drink can be provided on the floor, in a location easily accessible to the animal. Various animal dishes have been suggested which utilize a water barrier, such as a water-filled moat, to protect the food and/or drink in the dish from access by crawling insects. Examples of such dishes are found in Trampier, Sr. U.S. Pat. No. 2,191,811; Sinclair U.S. Pat. No. 2,584,301; Haney U.S. Pat. No. 4,128,080; Prestidge et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,350; Michael U.S. Pat. No. 4,007,711; and Carpenter U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,905;
A number of these prior art dishes involve relatively complex construction, e.g., separate stands for the dishes, and/or failed to protect the water in the water barrier from being contaminated by food from the dish. When food from the dish gets into the water barrier, the dish must be cleaned and the water in the water barrier replaced in short order to prevent unpleasant odors, harmful bacteria growth and the like.